Hmm... what is that I spy out the window?

I was standing at the sink the other day and look who happened to be outside sunning themselves on our patio off the deck?

I think he was after the bacon I just got done cooking for those wraps on Friday! Jeff tried to feed the bunny a carrot, but it ran away - apparently he is working on a plan to name him (or her...) and is currently trying to lure it back with my precious blueberries and lettuce. He was going to try to bribe it with grass, but ours is currently very brown and crunchy... we so need a few days worth of rain around here!

Since I'm always on the hunt for homemade snacks, I set aside a recipe for some Chewy Granola Squares and got around to making them this afternoon. Dense, extremely chewy and just sweet enough, this snack was a snap to throw together and used ingredients I always keep around in the pantry. Loaded with rolled oats, the squares are enhanced by the addition of sweet dried apricots, crunchy toasted almonds and studded with just enough mini chips to add a hint of chocolate throughout. Binding these together is a mixture of rich brown sugar, pure maple syrup, canola oil, egg whites and a generous scoop of homemade almond butter. If you don't already have almond butter on hand, you could probably use peanut butter instead - the almond adds a different nutty note than you may find in your average granola bar.

You can kind of see a sparkle on top of the bars in the picture - before baking, a sprinkling of salt on top brings that salty/sweet element into play and worked to heighten the flavor of the bars. You can cut them into whatever shape you want, if you prefer a longer bar shape than a square, just do the majority of the cuts on the short side. I'm already planning the next batch - I'm thinking chopped white chocolate, cranberries and maybe pecans, walnuts or even some sunflower seeds!

We have a rabbit who lives in our yard, as well--he was living in my neglected garden, and has also found a new residence under the hosta in the front yard. It surprises me that in a city like ours one can have the same critters as in the country.

Janet - Just so we are on the same length, it calls for almond butter and not the sweetened almond "paste" that is usually found in a can. Just didn't want you to use a different ingredient if you tried them out!

Jen - We hope to see more, it is nice to see the "wild" life up close!